Resolve to Be Destined in 2010

Today marks the end of 2009. Therefore, I just want to take the time to talk about something that a lot of people are doing during this time of the year... which is making New Years resolutions.

I have strong feelings about making New Years Resolutions. But before I talk about them, let me talk about how some people feel about making these resolutions. Some people make them, but give up on them by the end of February (in many cases, by the end of January). Some people don't make them simply because they simply see no point because they'll end up like the people in the previous reason. Some people don't make them because they say that New Years resolutions shouldn't be made because of the fact that we shouldn't only look to change ourselves for the better only once a year, but we should do it constantly during our whole lives. Let me address my thoughts on these two topics now...

First, I want to say that I do firmly believe in making New Years Resolutions. Since I do, let me go ahead and address the first two reasons in the previous paragraph. As somebody who studies motivation (and pretty much lives and breathes it), people give up on their resolutions, because they look at them as tasks, but more importantly, they don't look at them as goals which will eventually help them grow to be better. Most people give them up early, usually because they expect results right away, and sometimes get discouraged when they don't materialize right away. Not to mention, it is hard to break a routine of not doing something you haven't been doing for a long time, and when you finally decide you want to do it, it's kind of hard of getting into the habit of doing it. So, just a few simple tips to get around this... make a record of your resolutions (aka goals) and have them close to you. Have them in a notebook/journal, put it on a log in your computer, or whatever! But, try to review them as much as you can to constantly remind you of them, and what you want to become. Another tip... a good way to make a habit of doing something that Jack Canfield recommended in his book "The Success Principles" is to make a commitment to do it 2 weeks straight, no excuses. If you do that, no matter what the habit is (good or bad) more often than not, it's going to stay with you for life. (For example, I can't start a day without brushing my teeth or doing pushups after getting up from bed, nor can I eat a meal without saying grace, simply because I have made a habit of it.)

As far as the other reason is concerned, about not making them simply because we should constantly reflect and change ourselves for the better everyday, and not just during the turn of the calendar... Yes, that is true, and I will absolutely agree with that. But, do most people who say this actually do it? I am willing to bet you that those who say this, don't constantly take the time to reflect upon themselves nor constantly think about how they could be better, each and every single day. Therefore, a lot of people who say this, are just making an excuse and usually just using these words as a "cop out" to not look at their situation and try to be better.

I believe New Years Resolutions exist because I feel, that as a society, we all have to make them. And though I agree that we shouldn't only reflect upon ourselves during the New Year, it is a great time to do it, because it gives us a chance to really look back on what we have previously accomplished (whether it be in the previous year, or in life), and what we can do moving forward and evolve as human beings, since the calendar directly tells us (while our mind subconsciously tells us) that we are beginning another era of our lives.

So, I really do believe that we all should make "New Years Resolutions", because it will ultimately make us better. But once we make it, we should make a commitment of sticking by it (and a good tip is to keep a record and stick with it every single day for at least 2 weeks straight, NO EXCUSES!). Even if it's a small resolution, go ahead and make it, because if you accomplish it, it will give you the confidence to make it bigger as the year goes on. (Like I said, New Year's Resolutions shouldn't only last during the first two months, but for the whole year).

With that, I just want to wish everyone a HAPPY NEW YEAR. May your 2010 be the year of "DC", the year of the "Destiny Chooser". May you continue to evolve and take huge steps in becoming the best person that you are destined to be! :-)

D4P...PD!!! (in 2010 and beyond)

-John

Happy Thanksgiving

Just want to take the time to wish everyone here in America a "Happy Thanksgiving".

For those who celebrate this holiday, just take the time to focus on what's important and give thanks for all the blessings that came to your life. Although, there will be some who will some how turn this holiday into a negative (by commemorating the fact that the Piligrims killed the Native Americans after the First Thanksgiving dinner), I just want to just focus on your own blessings and not focus on the negative things in your life, and the negative things around the world. It would be hard to give thanks if that is your mindset.

As far as what I'm personally thankful for... I am most thankful for my family, most especially my mom the fact that she is still alive and survived all her battles with stress and health (plus, her patience is extremely admirable considering she has to put up with me, lol). She is one of the most loving people I know, and for those of you who are thankful can really see that. I'm also thankful for my progress. Although it is hard to see through some standards, I have done so much more during the past 11 months in getting where I want to be, than I have during the previous 2 years, and if I am able to keep going at it, there is no doubt that I can be where I want to be in a year from now. I am also thankful for all my friends. People that I have met during the past year, and people I have known beforehand... you all have had a profound impact in my life.

For all that I've mentioned above... I am truly thankful. Although we're all supposed to take time everyday to reflect on what you're thankful for, it is a known fact that we don't do it simply because we have other "priorities" to worry about. So now that we are officially designated a particular day when we are supposed to, make sure you get your priorities straight.

So to all who are reading... Happy Thanksgiving!!! And let this be the start of a great Holiday!!! :-)

D4P...PD!!!
-John

DC has lost an Icon... RIP Abe Pollin

During the past day and a half, there have been many local columnists, bloggers, reporters, celebrities, and media personalities doing tributes to the recently deceased owner of the Washington Wizards Abe Pollin. But you know, all the great things that has been said about Abe Pollin is well-deserved. In my opinion, he was probably one of the most important non-political figures here in DC, as he was very integral and single-handedly had a lot to do with the revitalization of what the city of DC has become today.

For those who just vaguely know the name of "Abe Pollin" he was known as the passionate sports owner. He owned the professional basketball team here in DC, that he brought from Chicago, then to Baltimore, then to DC. This team eventually became known as the Washington Bullets, then (due to political incorrectness) later became known as the Washington Wizards. He also brought professional hockey to Washington when the Expansion Capitals came to the NHL in '74. Overall, during his career in sports, he has owned 3 teams in the NBA's Bullets/Wizards, WNBA's Mystics, and NHL's Capitals.

But what I think what people would really remember him for is building the MCI Center (now Verizon Center) right smackdab in the middle of Washington, DC. An outstanding thing about that is that he pretty much built this arena with his own money, because at the time, the city was broke, and didn't have the money to issue bonds to pay to build the arena. If you lived in DC back then, you would remember that this part of the area was a pretty scary area to go to (almost as bad as the Anacostia/Southeast DC area was). But even more outstanding than that was that Abe Pollin building that arena pretty led to getting that area, and eventually the whole city becoming revitalized. Before that arena, there was nothing but run down buildings and apartment complexes, filled with lots of shady characters walking down the street. Nobody would think of getting off the Gallery-Place Metro Station. Now, that particular Metro Stop is pretty much the place to get off. There are tons of businesses around that arena, like office buildings, all sorts of restaurants, clubs, etc. Roughly 12 years after that arena opened that particular area of DC has become the spot where everything is happening.

Abe Pollin building that arena was the catalyst to the growth of the whole city of Washington, DC during the past 10 years. He inspired more real-estate moguls from around the country to take notice in this area and invest in this area by building properties, which eventually led to having this city more attractive overall, and raised the per capita income in the city and stimulated the local economy. If Abe didn't build the MCI Center, we wouldn't have building such as the Spy Museum, we wouldn't have most of the restaurants that we'd have (like Legal Sea Foods, the ESPN Zone, etc), and we wouldn't have Nationals Park, and arguably, the Washington Nationals. (The Expos were brought here because through it's well-improved economy during the past decade, partly thanks to the MCI Center, it was thought that this city can support a baseball team, and build a beautiful new stadium that people hoped could do for SE DC what the MCI Center did to Chinatown).

But as far as the Arena itself, it was one of the most revolutionary arenas of it's time, with a Jumbotron that was the first of it's kind (which later became an HD screen of it's kind), with several luxury suites, and cosy seats on the concourse. I remembered seeing the arena when it debuted on December '97 when the Wizards played the Sonics, and was just impressed with what I saw in TV. Then, when I got to go to my first event in MCI Center (which was a WCW Starrcade Wrestling Pay-Per-View), I was simply awestruck by the arena, as there was not a bad seat in the house. I have since then been to many other events in this arena, and has sat in many different sections, and I'm still awestruck with everything I've seen (as the last event I've been through, coincidentally, was another wrestling pay-per-view, in WWE Survivor Series this past Sunday).

People will truly remember Mr. Pollin for what all that he's done in this city... through building this arena, and through his other charity and philantrophic work. He'd donated millions to charity, give houses and money to the less fortunate, and along with Gilbert Arenas, help build schools around the area (through the Gilbert scores for schools program). He has singlehandedly done more for this particular city, than probably most owners in any city has done for theirs. I've previously blogged about current Washington Capitals owner Ted Leonsis, and most of Mr. Leonsis principles were modeled from what Mr. Pollin believed in.

Unless you've lived in this area, you can't really understand how important Abe Pollin has been to this city. But even then, even if you lived in the area, you wouldn't really know the full extent of how he really was a human being and how he worked. (Even I doubted him at times, and was clueless with some of the decisions he's made in certain times, such as his firing of Michael Jordan as an executive. At the time, I didn't know it, but it turned out to be a great move).

But, I would say, that I do know, that through everything he has accomplished in the past 5 decades, it would be hard to top his legacy, not only as an NBA Owner, but as a person in general.

So RIP Mr. Pollin. The D.M.V. is surely going to miss you. Your love and accomplishments to this area is something that I personally want to get to someday, and without it, this city wouldn't be where it is. Washington Sports and Entertainment, and Washington, DC in general will never be the same about you!

D4P...PD!!!
-John

No DC... the President is Not Dead!!!...

I haven't done a blog in a while... but I figured this would be a great time for me to start again.

I've avoided a lot of topics over the past few weeks (such as Obama's take on health care, Kanye being a jerk, Serena being a jerk, etc), but I figured I'd talk about the Detroit Lions getting their first win in almost 2 years, against my team, the Washington Redskins.

The reason why I'm talking about this, is because it really has had an impact around this area, and the topics I usually hold dear to my heart (such as motivation, sports, heart, passion, etc). But, if you walk around the Washington area right now, you would have thought that President Obama died (as what I've said in a Facebook update earlier today, and hence the title of this blog).

As a very loyal Redskins fan who has loyally followed this team for about 2 decades, don't get me wrong, I was very upset by the loss. But, I think many people in this town are just overreacting over something they can not control. I understand the frustration with the current management, lackluster play, and 18 years without a Superbowl. But the unfavorable outcome of one football game that we have no hand in deciding is NOT gonna ruin your life.

Many people know that I love sports as much as the next guy and I probably follow it as obsessively, if not moreso, as my brother Angelico loves video games. And, those who know me would know that I love the teams that I follow. However, I wouldn't compare the Redskins losing as if I have lost a family member, or as if the president died. There are more things in life to be sad about than the Redskins losing a game to a team that hasn't won in almost 2 years. Believe me when I say, if the Redskins losing to the Lions is the worst thing that can happen to me this week... then consider me a lucky guy. The best thing I can do, is just say my opinions, make my peace, and move on with life, as well as hope the team will correct their mistakes and do better in the upcoming weeks... If not, so be it! Why lose my head over something I can't control???

As far as the Dallas Cowboy fans, bandwagon fans, the closet fans, and other anti-Redskins fans who will give fans of this team a hard time... you can't control them (and some of the idiotic things they may sometimes say), but you can control how you feel (and react) towards all of that. Remember... "It All Starts With You!" ;-)

I will say though, I have heard once, that pain is usually an ultimate motivator. Now that my favorite team has experienced a significant part of it this week by losing to a team like the Lions (and literally had their pride taken away from them), I just have to hope that it hurts enough for them to make something out of this and to hopefully turn this season around. And to bring back the quote by Napoleon hill...

"Every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries with it the seed on an equal or greater benefit." -Napoleon Hill

So yeah DC, the President didn't die. Believe it or not, something good can come out of this, and all doesn't have to be bad in this town week. (Not to mention, the Washington Capitals season starts on Thursday).

D4P...PD!!!
-John

8 years ago

I can't believe that it has been about 8 years since the horrible events of 9-11-01.

The events that day was one of those generation-defining periods, where everyone remembers where they were when they heard the news that the planes crashed in the World Trade Center twin towers. I can specifically remember where I was...

I was a sophomore in college, just coming back from my early 8:00 class which ended pretty early at a little over 8:30, and on my way to get some breakfast in the North Campus Dining Hall in the University of Maryland, before trying to either get some work done, or going back to sleep. I sat down, reading the Diamondback, eating my waffles, then all of a sudden, the TV switched to CNN coverage saying that a plane crashed on the World Trade Center. Then, a few minutes later, the second plane crashed, LIVE on the newsfeed. I was horrendously shocked!

Throughout the day, people around campus were shocked. Then, after hearing that the Pentagon was attacked (and wrongly hearing that the Capitol was attacked, which the United 93 flight that crashed in PA was intended for), I was tranced. I was worried about my brother (who was at Catholic University at the time, only a few miles from the Pentagon attack). Later that afternoon, when I went to my 2:30 PSYC 100 lecture, the professor had a lot of trouble teaching, and said that we must unite as a country.

But, if there's one great thing that came out of 9-11, is that this country united stronger than ever from the days of those events. I couldn't forget how many people wanted to immediately enlist in the army due to anger, pain, and pride after hearing the tragic events of that day (to kick some terrorist butt).

I actually wrote a "knee jerk" entry on the events of that day in my old website, on that same day. Feel free to check it out by clicking here. You can really see the feelings I was feeling that day (like pain, anger, confusion, etc). Keep in mind I was also 8 years younger, and I didn't quite know how to really express myself at that time.

To close things out, yes, the events of 9-11-01 was unfortunate. But, it has truly made us stronger as a country, and we have gone a long way since then. But, as a country (as well as individuals), we should never forget that day, but at the same time, we must continue to progress and move forward.

D4P...PD!!!
-John

Oh yeah... America still rocks...

Are You Ready for Some Football???

I sure am!!!

The NFL season officially kicks off tomorrow, and I am pretty excited about it. I just want to take a little time to offer some thoughts, and just make a few simple and non-serious predictions (for entertainment purposes of course)...

Thoughts...

• The top teams looking the most solid going into the season would be the Patriots, Ravens, and the Eagles. The Chargers should also be even better since they'll get "Light's Out" back.
  
• The Bears, 49ers, and Jaguars could probably be the surprise teams this season.
• The Cowboys and Giants aren't gonna be as great as some people are saying they will be.
• Brett Favre will either make or break the Vikings

Predictions...

• The Lions will NOT go 0-16.
• Brett Favre will either be injured or not starting if the Vikings don't have a winning record by the bye week and/or if they don't beat the Packers. (They'd already have played the Packers twice and have a favorable first half schedule, with the exception of the Steelers).
• Vick will be a valuable weapon in the Philly offense.
• Regular Season... Best: Chargers, Worst: Buccaneers, Sleeper: 49ers (picking them to challenge for the NFC West)
  
• Fantasy... Stud: Phillip Rivers, Dud: Tony Romo, Sleeper: Ray Rice
  
• Superbowl matchup: Eagles vs. Ravens

As far as my Redskins are concerned, they are not as bad as most people are saying they are gonna be. They have a decent chance to go over 10 wins (but also a decent chance to lose 10, if not careful). Regardless, I don't think they will lose that much, considering the talent level. I am also predicting that their 5th-string WR Marko Mitchell could potentially be their version of Marques Colston, and could make it to the #2 WR spot by the end of the season. And, since I said the Cowboys and Giants may not be as good as people say they will be, I believe they have a decent chance to challenge in the division.

One reason why I really love football season, is that it provides the best drama out of all the sports, and provides great story telling, with several plot lines, characters, and coverage. And as a speaker, I can appreciate that kind of "art".

But, those are just a few thoughts. I am so pumped for this season. I love this time of the year!

D4P...PD!!!
-John

Back from Spain...

I am writing this blog as I am in the air on the way back from Spain (but obviously, this entry isn't published on the blog until a little bit later). Anyway, I should take a little bit of time to let all you awesome readers know about my trip.

Spain is a very beautiful country. It is definitely a country that you have to experience with your own eyes. Let me just say it's definitely as great as any of the pictures I have seen in books. There are a lot of beautiful landscapes as you drive on the mountains and countryside, that you can just do absolutely nothing but appreciate. In fact, I probably must have gotten camera happy by taking tons of pictures just while riding in the car (a bunch of which I plan on posting on my Facebook page, eventually). You wouldn't be able to tell how beautiful Spain it by flying over it (unlike my local home city of Washington, DC), but driving around it is an experience within itself (as I heard is true with the most of Europe, which hopefully I hope to explore sometime).

The reason I was in Spain though was to visit my uncle and his wife, whom I haven't seen since 2002 when he visited DC. He is the only one out of the 4 other siblings that grew up with my mom back when my grandmother died way back in their childhood, so he was really close to my mom. I went with my mother, my two brothers, my sister-in-law, and my niece and nephew. Of course, it was the first time he saw my brother's kids, so that was a treat for him. But, it was also such a treat for us, as we haven't seen him in more than 7 years, and he showed us around Spain.

We landed in Barcelona, but we stayed at a town called Vinaros (which is a few miles off Valencia, aka "Orange Country"). The hotel my brothers, sister-and-law, and I stayed in was more of a Hostel (Hostal Tereuel) and it was very nice, because it was family owned with a very nice family atmosphere. They treated us really well.

We were pretty much around the Eastern part of Spain during our whole trip, so we were pretty much right beside the Mediterranean the whole time. We spent a lot of time in the beach, where believe it or not, the water is actually blue (as opposed to brownish green here in most of Northeast/Mid-Atlantic US). We visited towns like Peñiscola (there is a tild on top of the n if you didn't notice), Morella, and my favorite, Granada, where we visited the Alhambra and the Generalife garden (which was very beautiful). I also somewhat re-learned the Spanish language while there too.

It was also great spending time with my family. It's not often that my mom gets a vacation, and she definitely deserves this one, considering how hard she works. And my other relatives and the kids are definitely characters upon themselves. And though I kind of have sort of a "love-hate" relationship with all of my family (as you may know from reading "It All Starts With You"), I still love 'em and definitely cherish the time with them, even when they figuratively drive me nuts (at one point of the trip, I got pretty annoyed with one of my brothers that I kinda told him off for being proud of being a jerk, but cooler heads prevailed and everything was good).

Of course, I had trouble with using my computer. Though I did have free wi-fi, I couldn't charge my computer because I didn't have a grounded converter (which I didn't get until today when we got back to Barcelona to fly back), but it was all for the better. I was on vacation on pretty much anything (I didn't bring my pushup bars, and didn't do more than 600 pushups/day while there). I will have a lot of e-mail to attend to, and a lot of stuff to do to get back. Since I had a good amount of Euro to left spend before flying back, I did spend a lot of it on Toblerone, and stuff from the airport. It's all good though.

Also, I do want to say, that I had done some productive reading, getting to read two books. "Guerilla Negotiation" by Conrad Levinson et.al and "Covert Persuasion" by Kevin Hogan. Both recommended reads, and both taught me a lot of stuff (as well as reminded me of some old ones). Both books also had a unique way of telling you some of the same things about knowing and reading the behavior of others. (May do a review for one or both books if I'm up to it).

But, now that vacation is over, definitely have to focus on the next few months to end the year, and the next months after to begin the year. These next 5-10 months are so crucial to my speaking career, that it will definitely tell me where I will be in the next 5-10 years, both in my career, and as a person. Hell, these next few months are so crucial, that I'm not doing my annual fantasy football tradition this year. I have a few conferences to expose myself, a lot of opportunities to network, and start booking several talks and close on product, all before the end of the year. And what comes after that, is even more crucial. Time to prove my doubters wrong, and continue do something that I always whole heartedly believe in... choose and shape your own destiny!

If being in Spain has continued to remind me of something, is to never take anything for granted, whether it be your family, time, time with family, and time with yourself to enjoy the world. Not to mention, it's good once in a while to clear your head and re-charge, from whatever you're doing. That way, you can get back to focus on what you need and have to do.

So, if you have a chance, I definitely recommend visiting Spain. It's very beautiful. Time to make focus, and make life even more beautiful!

D4P...PD!!!
-John

(After getting back, the airline lost some of our luggage. But, at least we got home okay. BTW, this is the only sentence I didn't write in the plane).